A system of yoni-worship, or female-centered sex-worship, which
allegedly begun thousands of years ago in India by women of a secret sect
called Vratyas, the processors of the devadasis or sacred harlots. The
religion
was associated with later written scriptures known as Tantras, therefore,
it became known as Tantrism. Its primary objective was the adoration of
the lingam-yoni, sign of the male and female principles in
conjunction
(the god Shiva
and the goddess Kali).
Tantrism
is still practiced in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet.

The basic tenet of Tantrism was that the woman possesses more spiritual
energy than the man; therefore, the man could achieve realization of the
divinity through sexual and emotional union with a woman. A fundamental
rite was controlled sexual intercourse, maithuna, Latin, coitus
reservatus; sex without male orgasm. In theory the man must store up
his sexual fluid rather than expelling it by ejaculation. Through Tantric
training, he learned to absorb through his penis the fluid engendered by
his partner’s orgasm and to prolong sexual intercourse for many hours.
In this way he became similar to Shiva, the God in perpetual union with
the Goddess. Theoretically, the concept was that the conserved vital
fluids
would be stored in the man’s spinal column, working their way up through
the chakras to his head, and there flower
the inspiration of divine wisdom. The Tantras explains the
purposes
of the various rites and the philosophy underlying them.

The most sacred mantra expressing Tantric
worship was Om mani padme hum, the
Jewel
(penis) in the Lotus (vulva). The symbolic lingam-yoni often took
the form of an altar shaped like a penis in a vulva.

The practice met with opposition as did its Christian counterparts,
namely
the Ophites and Montanists. Orthodox
Buddhism
was based on opposition to the female principle and believed in order to
saved their souls men must avoid sex. The vitality of the soul was
retained
by the conservation of semen, and the concentration (see Meditation)
on the Self. Buddhist monks claim their prophet commanded them to quell
all sexual desire, and to never see or speak to a woman.

Tantrism was never completely destroyed. It has been practiced in
different
forms or versions throughout the centuries. It was practiced by some early
Christians who called it synesaktism, the Way of Shakti,
which was a form of Goddess-worship
that
had come from the Orient through Pythagorean and Neoplatonic mystics.
Plotinus equated the mind’s progress toward Ineffable to "the
sight of a beautiful lady." The ascent of the mind toward the realization
of divinity was divided into six steps, the first being the perception of
woman’s beauty to the culmination with the contemplation of Universal
Beauty.

However, as with everything which incorporates natural tendencies but
also denies them this form of Goddess-worship traveled a bumpy road. One
big obstacle was when the Christian Church declared that the sole purpose
of sex was for the propagation of children. This lead to the obstacle of
others being suspicious of those practicing it, thinking promiscuity was
occurring among them.

Some early Christian sects such as the Gnostic
Ophites practiced a form of Tantrism by adoring their Goddess symbol of
Sophia. She was thought of as the Holy Spirit, the feminine soul or the
Shakti of God. They called their rite a spiritual marriage which was
completely
misconceived by the orthodox Church which condemned it. Certain members
of these sects laid naked together while copulating. Their rite was
suspicious
in that they say they only avoided male orgasm. As previously mentioned
promiscuity was suspect.

Christians were not the only ones attacking such practices, the Islamic
leaders also were attacking the Sufi cults of love. Sufi mysticism
survived
underground, carried on by troubadours calling themselves Lovers and
adoring
the feminine principle as a world-sustaining power. The Sufi worship
eventually
influenced the European troubadours, who founded cults of Courtly Love in
the centuries following the crusades. Such troubadours were branded sinful
by the Church because they loved women instead of God; and, women were
equated
with the devil by the theological opinion of the time. The patriarchal
authority
was not going to approve something that was natural as good, such an act
would seem to grant the right of sexual pleasure to women.

Although Courtly Love practiced Tantric maithuna under the name
of drudaria, a sort of love associated with male self-denial, it
was anything but chaste. To the contrary, its poetry was highly erotic.
The bardic verse indicated Tantrism origins, especially when Peredur’s
mystic lady-love revealed that she came from India or when Tristan told
his lady-love Iseult that his name was the syllabically-reversed Tantris.

There are indications that Tantrism was present throughout the history
of western nations. It was either taught through secret teaching or
discovered
independently. Medieval goddess-worshippers, valified as "witches"
apparently knew of it. There are indications that it was taught and used
as a birth-control technique. Many alleged witches were midwives whom the
Church thought were teaching birth control. Also, there is no evidence of
women becoming pregnant after returning from witches’ sabbats.

Maithuna was heard of once more, in 1848, when John Humphrey
Noyes,
founder of the Oneida Creek Community, rediscovered the technique which
he called "male continence’ or karezza. Noyes’ initial
reason as to protect his wife from "the horrors and the fear of
involuntary
propagation" after she had four disastrous pregnancies. Afterwards
Noyes trained members of his community in the technique and they began
experimenting
in what was called "complex marriage" where the various partners
had no fear of unwanted pregnancies.

Some occult groups in the 19th and 20th centuries used Tantric coitus
reservatus for various reasons. However, maithuna was not
widely
practiced by Western men because of Christian and cultural teachings. A.G.H.